Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts: Update for 2026
23 January 2026
BY SCOTT M. GRAFFIUS | ScottGraffius.com
Graffius, S. M. (2026, January 23). Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts: Update for 2026. ScottGraffius.com. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.32407.43689
High-resolution versions of the visuals are available here.
People and organizations utilize digital communication to connect with and engage their target audiences, as well as promote their content. This is digital marketing, which includes email, social media, web-based advertising, and text and multimedia messages.
Social media marketing is an increasingly vital aspect of digital marketing. It encompasses creating, curating, and sharing content on platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok, X, Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, LinkedIn, podcasts, YouTube, Pinterest, and blogs. Beyond posting, it involves engaging with audiences, fostering community interactions, and more. These platforms enable people to access, share, and interact with content while connecting with family, friends, and others. For businesses, social media marketing provides direct channels to reach and engage target audiences effectively. When well-executed, it delivers multiple benefits, including:
Other reports on social media often rely on anecdotal evidence, limited datasets, or otherwise non-robust methodology. These common constraints can result in findings that are non-representative, inaccurate, or unreliable. In contrast, this research is grounded in a rigorous methodology that is refreshed each year, delivering a reliable longitudinal perspective amid the constant evolution of platform algorithms and engagement windows.
In 2018, Scott M. Graffius first published data on the lifespan (half-life) of social media posts using a systematic methodology analyzing a broad set of data from multiple sources. This work bridges the gap between high-level academic studies—frequently theoretical and slow-moving—and commercial insights that are often fast but opaque. By identifying when posts reach half of their total lifetime engagement, the analysis establishes a practical benchmark for understanding how engagement accrues over time. Engagement signals interest, reveals what resonates, boosts algorithmic visibility, and more.
Given that algorithms and other factors on platforms evolveB2,B25,B26, Graffius periodically updates his analysis.
Businesses, professional associations, government agencies, social media researchers, influencers, publications, and others have featured and used prior editions of Scott M. Graffius' "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" work. Examples include Buffer, Business Next, GoDaddy, Maximizing LinkedIn for Business Growth, Ministère de la Culture (French Ministry of Culture), Neal Schaffer, Pinterest Inc., Podcasting Strategy Show, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Telecommunications Policy, World Economic Forum, Xavier Degraux, and many more. See the Coverage of Graffius' Research section for additional examples.
This article provides the "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts: Update for 2026." It covers Snapchat, TikTok, X, Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, LinkedIn, podcasts (audio and video formats with engagement functionality), YouTube, Pinterest, and blogs (with engagement functionality).
Findings were derived from an extensive analysis of over 5,600,000 social media posts and 397 podcasts, aggregated from multiple sources, including application programming interfaces (APIs), proprietary commercial datasets, academic and research consortia databases, publicly shared datasets, governmental and non-governmental organizational data repositories, and more.A1
The collective dataset includes data from 1 January 2025 through 31 December 2025 (with retrospective data from antecedent blogging platforms) on diverse entities, including individuals (from those with few followers/subscribers to influencers), businesses (from small to large), professional associations, educational institutions, and others. Entities are represented proportionately, reflecting the distribution in the digital ecosystem.A1 This comprehensive, multidimensional approach yields a robust and representative sampling of posts, providing a broad and deep scope of analysis.A1
Why This Research Matters
For more insights and details, refer to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section.
As detailed next, the average half-life of posts varies by social media platform.
Snapchat is a multimedia social media and instant messaging app developed by Snap Inc., known for its ephemeral "Snaps" that typically disappear after being viewed. Beyond its ephemeral nature, Snapchat offers features like Stories, Discover, augmented reality (AR) filters, and Snap Map. It has 932,000,000 (932 million) monthly active users.B3
The average half-life duration for engagement on Snapchat posts is 0 minutes.A1 Exceptions apply. Content may disappear instantly or live up to 24 hours (even longer in certain cases) depending on the message type, user settings, and other details.
Algorithms and other factors on platforms can change over time, potentially impacting the average half-life duration for posts. For comparison, here’s data on Snapchat for 2026 along with the previous two annual editions of this report:
See the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section for more insights about Snapchat.
TikTok is a leading platform for short‑form video content, where creators share brief, highly engaging clips that can spread quickly across the "For You" feed. While most TikTok videos remain available unless removed, the platform also supports story‑style ephemeral posts, enabling creators to share spontaneous, in‑the‑moment updates with less pressure to produce polished content. TikTok has 1,990,000,000 (1.99 billion) monthly active users.B3
The average half-life duration for engagement on TikTok posts is 0 minutes, with the caveat of "with exceptions."A1 Videos featuring uniquely compelling content or celebrity involvement can go viral, significantly extending their visibility and engagement.
TikTok was added to this report in 2025.
See the FAQs for more insights about TikTok.
X is a microblogging and social networking service owned by X Corp., where users post and interact with messages known as "tweets" or "X posts"—now encompassing long-form text, images, videos, live streams, audio/video calls, and more. The following from X encapsulates its vision, mission, and goals: "We're building the world's most trusted public town square—and we pride ourselves on our commitment to protecting free speech within the boundaries of the law. Beyond that, we aim to increase unregretted user minutes on our platform, and make it the best place on the internet for creators to share content and make money."B6 X has 557,000,000 (557 million) monthly active users.B3
The average half-life duration for posts on X is 52 minutes.A1
Algorithms and other factors on platforms can change over time, potentially impacting the average half-life duration for posts. For comparison, here’s data on X for 2026 along with the previous two annual editions of this report:
See the FAQs for more insights about X.
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It enables users to create profiles, connect with others, and share content such as text posts, photos, videos, and links. The platform also supports groups, pages, events, and advertising, making it widely used for personal communication, community building, and business marketing. Facebook has 3,070,000,000 (3.07 billion) monthly active users.B3
The average half-life duration for Facebook posts is 86 minutes = 1.43 hours.A1
Algorithms and other factors on platforms can change over time, potentially impacting the average half-life duration for posts. For comparison, here’s data on Facebook for 2026 along with the previous two annual editions of this report:
See the FAQs for more insights about Facebook.
Reddit
Reddit, often called "the front page of the internet," is a social media and discussion platform where users participate in more than 100,000 active topic‑specific communities known as subreddits. Its upvote and downvote system lets users collectively shape what is seen, surfacing higher‑quality or more popular posts and comments while pushing less relevant content out of view. Founded in 2005, Reddit has grown into a vast ecosystem spanning breaking news, in‑depth discussions, memes, and highly niche interests. This participatory structure and breadth of content have made it one of the web’s central hubs for discovering information and connecting with communities built around shared interests. Reddit is reported to have 765,000,000 (765 million) monthly active users.B3
The average half-life duration for Reddit posts is 150 minutes = 2.50 hours.A1
Reddit was added to this report in 2025.
See the FAQs for more insights about Reddit.
Instagram
Instagram is a leading photo and video-sharing social platform owned by Meta. It lets users capture and post media—enhanced with filters, effects, music, stickers, captions, and more—then organize it with hashtags, location tags, and collections. People follow accounts to see updates in a personalized feed, engaging through likes, comments, shares, saves, and direct messages. Instagram has 3,000,000,000 (3.00 billion) monthly active users.B3
The average half-life duration for Instagram posts is 1,096 minutes = 18.27 hours.A1
Algorithms and other factors on platforms can change over time, potentially impacting the average half-life duration for posts. For comparison, here’s data on Instagram for 2026 along with the previous two annual editions of this report:
See the FAQs for more insights about Instagram.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a business and employment-oriented online service that serves as the world's largest professional network. With over 1.2 billion members worldwideB22, it enables users to build and showcase professional profiles, connect with colleagues and industry peers, discover job opportunities, share insights and content, and advance their careers. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Microsoft. LinkedIn does not report how many of its users are monthly active users (MAUs). Third parties estimate that there are about 300 million MAUs.
The average half-life duration for LinkedIn posts is 1,393 minutes = 23.22 hours.A1
Algorithms and other factors on platforms can change over time, potentially impacting the average half-life duration for posts. For comparison, here’s data on LinkedIn for 2026 along with the previous two annual editions of this report:
See the FAQs for more insights about LinkedIn.
A podcast is a digital media file, available online for streaming or download. The term "podcast," coined in Ben Hammersley in 2004B27, blends "iPod" and "broadcast." While audio podcasts dominate the medium, video podcasts, or vodcasts, have gained traction by integrating visual elements to boost engagement on platforms like YouTube. There are over 3,708,000 (3.47 million) podcasts.B23
The average half-life duration for posts on podcast platforms with engagement functionality is 10,117 minutes = 7.03 days.A1
Podcasts were added to this report in 2025.
See the FAQs for more insights about podcasts.
YouTube is an online video-sharing platform. It's owned by Google, and it's the second most visited website, after Google Search. YouTube has 2,580,000,000 (2.58 billion) monthly active users.B3
The average half-life duration for YouTube posts is 15,276 minutes = 10.60 days.A1
Algorithms and other factors on platforms can change over time, potentially impacting the average half-life duration for posts. For comparison, here’s data on YouTube for 2026 along with the previous two annual editions of this report:
See the FAQs for more insights about YouTube.
Pinterest
Pinterest is a visual discovery engine that enables people to search for, save, and curate ideas from across the internet as "pins" organized on customizable boards. Operated by Pinterest, Inc., the platform functions both as an inspiration hub—spanning categories such as fashion, home décor, recipes, and DIY—and as a marketing and commerce channel through features that support content distribution, product discovery, and shoppable experiences. It has 578,000,000 (578 million) monthly active users.B3
The average half-life duration for Pinterest posts is 174,894 minutes = 3.99 months.A1
Algorithms and other factors on platforms can change over time, potentially impacting the average half-life duration for posts. For comparison, here’s data on Pinterest for 2026 along with the previous two annual editions of this report:
See the FAQs for more insights about Pinterest.
Blogs (a truncation of "weblogs") are discussion or informational websites consisting of discrete, often diary-style entries. Up until 2009, blogs were usually the work of individuals and each typically covered a single topic. In the 2010s, multi-author blogs (MABs) from media outlets and others emerged. In addition to featuring the writings of multiple authors, MABs frequently span a range of topics. It is estimated that there are over 600,000,000 (600 million) blogs.B8,B24
The average half-life duration for posts on blog platforms with engagement functionality is 1,068,305 minutes = 2.03 years.A1
Algorithms and other factors on platforms can change over time, potentially impacting the average half-life duration for posts. For comparison, here’s data on blogs for 2026 along with the previous two annual editions of this report:
See the FAQs for more insights about blogs.
Social media platforms enable people to access, share, and interact with content while also connecting with family, friends, and others. The platforms also provide organizations with direct channels to reach and engage with their target audiences.
The relevance and engagement of social media posts have a limited lifespan. An advantageous objective metric is half-life. It’s the time it takes for a post to receive half of its total engagement (such as likes, shares, and comments). In 2018, Scott M. Graffius first published data on the lifespan (half-life) of social media posts. Algorithms and other factors on platforms change over time. For that reason, Graffius periodically updates his analysis. This report, which is based extensive study of over 5,600,000 social media posts and 397 podcasts aggregated from multiple sourcesA1, provides the update for 2026.
The "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts: Update for 2026" research stands out for its:
In closing, social media analytics offer valuable insights that can support efforts to level up engagement and results.B9,B10,B11,B12,B13,B14,B15 Data on the average half-life of posts can help inform strategic and tactical decisions such as the frequency and scheduling of posts.
Read on for:
FAQ 01. What is Social Media?
Social media refers to digital platforms and related technologies that enable users to create, share, and interact with content and connect with others in virtual communities. Leading dictionaries support that relatively broad characterization.
Summarized, the key characteristics of social media include:
FAQ 02. What platforms are included in this 2026 edition of the research?
This 2026 update covers Snapchat, TikTok, X, Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, LinkedIn, podcasts (audio and video formats with engagement functionality), YouTube, Pinterest, and blogs (with engagement functionality).
FAQ 03. Why exactly are posts on Snapchat a form of social media?
Further to FAQ items 1 and 2, posts on Snapchat are aligned with the core principles of social media by facilitating user-generated content, multimedia sharing, and interactive engagement. Here are the related definitive characteristics of Snapchat:
FAQ 04. Why exactly are posts on TikTok a form of social media?
Further to FAQ items 1 and 2, posts on TikTok are aligned with the core principles of social media by facilitating user-generated content, multimedia sharing, and interactive engagement. Here are the related definitive characteristics of TikTok:
FAQ 05. Why exactly are posts on X a form of social media?
Further to FAQ items 1 and 2, posts on X are aligned with the core principles of social media by facilitating user-generated content, multimedia sharing, and interactive engagement. Here are the related definitive characteristics of X:
FAQ 06. Why exactly are posts on Facebook a form of social media?
Further to FAQ items 1 and 2, posts on Facebook are aligned with the core principles of social media by facilitating user-generated content, multimedia sharing, and interactive engagement. Here are the related definitive characteristics of Facebook:
FAQ 07. Why exactly are posts on Reddit a form of social media?
Further to FAQ items 1 and 2, posts on Reddit are aligned with the core principles of social media by facilitating user-generated content, multimedia sharing, and interactive engagement. Here are the related definitive characteristics of Reddit:
FAQ 08. Why exactly are posts on Instagram a form of social media?
Further to FAQ items 1 and 2, posts on Instagram are aligned with the core principles of social media by facilitating user-generated content, multimedia sharing, and interactive engagement. Here are the related definitive characteristics of Instagram:
FAQ 09. Why exactly are posts on LinkedIn a form of social media?
Further to FAQ items 1 and 2, posts on LinkedIn are aligned with the core principles of social media by facilitating user-generated content, multimedia sharing, and interactive engagement. Here are the related definitive characteristics of LinkedIn:
FAQ 10. Why exactly are posts on podcast platforms a form of social media?
Further to FAQ items 1 and 2, posts on podcast platforms with engagement functionality are aligned with the core principles of social media by facilitating user-generated content, multimedia sharing, and interactive engagement. Here are the related definitive characteristics of podcasts:
FAQ 11. Why exactly are posts on YouTube a form of social media?
Further to FAQ items 1 and 2, posts on YouTube are aligned with the core principles of social media by facilitating user-generated content, multimedia sharing, and interactive engagement. Here are the related definitive characteristics of YouTube:
FAQ 12. Why exactly are posts on Pinterest a form of social media?
Further to FAQ items 1 and 2, posts on Pinterest are aligned with the core principles of social media by facilitating user-generated content, multimedia sharing, and interactive engagement. Here are the related definitive characteristics of Pinterest:
FAQ 13. Why exactly are posts on blog platforms a form of social media?
Further to FAQ items 1 and 2, posts on blog platforms with engagement functionality are aligned with the core principles of social media by facilitating user-generated content, multimedia sharing, and interactive engagement. Here are the related definitive characteristics of blogs:
FAQ 14. What is the half-life of social media posts?
The half-life is the time it takes for a post to receive half of its total engagement, such as likes, shares, and comments. It’s an advantageous objective metric for assessing content.
FAQ 15. Why is half-life important in social media strategy?
Half-life provides an objective metric to inform strategic and tactical decisions, such as the frequency and scheduling of posts.
FAQ 16. What factors can impact the half-life of social media?
Posts can be influenced by multiple elements. Here are ten factors:
FAQ 17. What data sources were used for the 2026 update?
The analysis drew from over 5,600,000 social media posts and 397 podcasts. Data sources included APIs, proprietary commercial datasets, academic and research consortia databases, publicly shared datasets, governmental and non-governmental organizational data repositories, and more.
FAQ 18. What dates does the 2026 update cover?
The update includes data from 1 January 2025 through 31 December 2025, and retrospective data from antecedent blogging platforms.
FAQ 19. Who is represented in the dataset used for the research?
The dataset represents a diverse range of entities, including individuals (from small accounts to influencers), businesses (small to large), professional associations, educational institutions, and more. The representation reflects the distribution in the digital ecosystem.
FAQ 20. What is the significance of the dataset size and diversity?
With data aggregated from over 5,600,000 posts (and 397 podcasts) and diverse sources, the comprehensive and multidimensional approach ensures robust and representative sampling, yielding broad and deep analytical insights.
FAQ 21. What factors impact engagement and the average half-life of posts on Snapchat?
Depending on the message type, user settings, and other details, content may disappear instantly or live up to 24 hours or longer.
FAQ 22. What factors impact engagement and the average half-life of posts on TikTok?
Select potential factors for TikTok include:
FAQ 23. What factors impact engagement and the average half-life of posts on X?
Select potential factors for X include:
FAQ 24. What factors impact engagement and the average half-life of posts on Facebook?
Select potential factors for Facebook include:
FAQ 25. What factors impact engagement and the average half-life of posts on Reddit?
Select potential factors for Reddit include:
This report conveys the average half-life for posts on the Reddit platform. Half-life may vary across different subreddits and content types. Factors such as the subreddit's size, topic, and activity level can greatly influence a post's half-life.
FAQ 26. What factors impact engagement and the average half-life of posts on Instagram?
Select potential factors for Instagram include:
FAQ 27. What factors impact engagement and the average half-life of posts on LinkedIn?
Select potential factors for LinkedIn include:
FAQ 28. What factors impact engagement and the average half-life of posts on podcast platforms?
Select potential factors for podcast platforms include:
This report conveys the average half-life for posts on podcast platforms with engagement functionality. Half-life may vary across different podcast genres, episode lengths, and audience demographics.
FAQ 29. What factors impact engagement and the average half-life of posts on YouTube?
Select potential factors for YouTube include:
This report conveys the average half-life for posts on the YouTube platform. Half-life can vary across different types of content, channels, and topics. Factors such as video length, subject matter, and target audience can greatly influence a video's half-life on the platform.
FAQ 30. What factors impact engagement and the average half-life of posts on Pinterest?
Select potential factors for Pinterest include:
This extended half-life aligns with Pinterest's unique position as a platform for long-term inspiration and planning. It reinforces Pinterest's value for marketers and content creators, offering an extended window for engagement compared to other social media platforms.
FAQ 31. What factors impact engagement and the average half-life of posts on blog platforms?
Select potential factors for blog platforms include:
FAQ 32. Can some posts have a half-life shorter or longer than the average half-life data published in this report?
Findings from this "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts: Update for 2026" research reports the average values derived from an extensive analysis of over 5,600,000 social media posts and 397 podcasts, aggregated from multiple sources including diverse entities, represented proportionately to reflect the distribution in the digital ecosystem. This comprehensive, multidimensional approach yields a robust and representative sampling of posts, providing a broad and deep scope of analysis to determine the average half-life durations.
However, individual posts may vary from the average. Additionally, others’ reports often rely on anecdotal evidence, limited datasets, or otherwise non-robust methodology. Those constraints can result in different findings.
FAQ 33. Which metric is better, views or engagement?
When evaluating the importance and value of views versus engagement on social media platforms, engagement metrics generally hold more value for several reasons. These include:
FAQ 34. Tracking engagement (impact) rather than mere views (content display)?
In social media and digital marketing metrics, views and engagement represent distinct concepts that serve different purposes in understanding audience behavior. A view is a measure of exposure, counting the instances when content is displayed; it’s a passive metric about reach or visibility rather than interaction. Engagement, by contrast, captures active participation, tracking when a user interacts with content through actions (such as liking, commenting, or sharing a post), offering a deeper insight into how compelling or resonant the content is to its audience. A view indicates that someone had the opportunity to see something, while engagement signals that the content sparked enough attention to prompt a response. Simply put, views measure reach, and engagement measures impact.
Some social media research tracks views—mere content display. By contrast, engagement (such as likes, shares, comments) measures impact. For that reason, Graffius' "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" research analyzes engagement, providing a deeper insight.
FAQ 35. What are algorithms and how do they impact the user experience on social media platforms?
See our article.B16
FAQ 36. What is the typical engagement distribution pattern for social media posts?
See our article.B17
FAQ 37. How does temporal decay of engagement manifest on ephemeral systems vs. persistent networks?
The temporal decay curve of digital engagement reveals platform-specific entropic gradients. Median half-lives vary, with ephemeral systems (such as X) exhibiting acclerated attenuation vs. persistent networks (such as Pinterest).
FAQ 38. What is the difference between the public "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" research and commissioned/custom work?
Scott M. Graffius makes his "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" report—which he typically updates annually—available to the public free of charge.
Clients have commissioned him for follow-up, bespoke projects. These engagements are often resource-intensive—requiring substantial time, effort, and expense—and may involve sensitive, confidential, or restricted materials. For those reasons, that content is not available to the public.
Scientists, researchers, journalists, academics, YouTubers, podcasters, SEO experts, analysts, businesses, and others have featured earlier editions of Scott M. Graffius' "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" research. Here are some examples:
This list is not exhaustive.
Section "A" pertains to the rigorous methodology employed in this study.
Section "B" pertains to additional sources of information.
Scott M. Graffius is a strategic transformation leader who drives AI, Agile, and broader business and technology initiatives to deliver measurable value across projects, programs, portfolios, and PMOs. He is an expert in the teamwork tradecraft of both human and human-AI teams, including the “exotic team dynamics” that emerge. He is also an authority on the temporal patterns of social media, including the half-life of audience engagement.
He’s a practitioner, researcher, thought leader, award-winning author, and keynote speaker who’s taken the stage at 96 conferences and other events across 25 countries.
He’s delivered over $2.3 billion in value for Fortune 500 companies and other leaders in technology, entertainment, financial services, healthcare, and beyond.
Businesses, professional associations, government agencies, and universities use Graffius and feature his work. Examples include Adobe, Bayer, Boston University, Ford, Gartner, Harvard Medical School, IEEE, Johns Hopkins University, Microsoft, MSN, National Academy of Sciences, Oracle, Pinterest Inc., Project Management Institute, UC San Diego, Verizon, Yale University, and others.
The following sections provide additional information on his experience, contributions, and influence.
Experience
Graffius heads the professional services firm Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, along with its subsidiary Exceptional Agility. These consultancies offer strategic and tactical advisory, training, embedded expertise, and consulting services to the public, private, and government sectors. They help organizations enhance their capabilities and results in agile, project management, program management, portfolio management, and PMO leadership, supporting innovation and driving competitive advantage. The consultancies confidently back services with a Delighted Client Guarantee™.
Graffius is a former VP of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment, and more.
He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets.
Award-Winning Author
Graffius has authored three books.
International Public Speaker
Organizations worldwide engage Graffius to present on tech (including AI), Agile, project management, program management, portfolio management, and PMO leadership. He crafts and delivers unique and compelling talks and workshops. Graffius has conducted 96 sessions across 25 countries. Select examples of events include Agile Trends Gov, BSides (Newcastle Upon Tyne), Conf42 Quantum Computing, DevDays Europe, DevOps Institute, DevOpsDays (Geneva), Frug’Agile, IEEE, Microsoft, Scottish Summit, Scrum Alliance RSG (Nepal), Techstars, and W Love Games International Video Game Development Conference (Helsinki), and more.
With an average rating of 4.81 (on a scale of 1-5), sessions are highly valued.
The speaker engagement request form is here.
Thought Leadership and Influence
Prominent businesses, professional associations, government agencies, and universities have showcased Graffius and his contributions—spanning his books, talks, workshops, and beyond. Select examples include:
Graffius has played a key role in the Project Management Institute (PMI) in developing professional standards. He was a member of multiple teams that authored, reviewed, and produced:
Additional details are here.
He was also a subject matter expert reviewer of content for the PMI’s Congress. Beyond the PMI, Graffius also served as a member of the review team for two of the Scrum Alliance’s Global Scrum Gatherings.
Acclaimed Authority on Teamwork Tradecraft
Graffius is a renowned authority on teamwork tradecraft. Informed by the research of Bruce W. Tuckman and Mary Ann C. Jensen, over 150 subsequent studies, and Graffius' first-hand professional experience with, and analysis of, team leadership and performance, Graffius created his "Phases of Team Development" intellectual property as a unique perspective and visual conveying the five phases of team development. First introduced in 2008 and periodically updated, his work provides a diagnostic and strategic guide for navigating team dynamics. It provides actionable insights for leaders across industries to develop high-performance teams. Its adoption by esteemed organizations such as Yale University, IEEE, Cisco, Microsoft, Ford, Oracle, Broadcom, the U.S. National Park Service, and the Journal of Neurosurgery, among others, highlights its utility and value, solidifying its status as an indispensable resource for elevating team performance and driving organizational excellence. In 2026, Graffius added human-AI teamwork—including the "exotic team dynamics" which emerge when advanced AI collaborates as a teammate—to his "Phases of Team Development."
The 2026 edition of Graffius' "Phases of Team Development" intellectual property is here.
Expert on Temporal Dynamics on Social Media Platforms
Graffius is also an authority on temporal dynamics on social media platforms. His "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" research—first published in 2018 and updated annually—delivers a precise quantitative analysis of post longevity across digital platforms, utilizing advanced statistical techniques to determine mean half-life with precision. It establishes a solid empirical base, effectively highlighting the ephemeral nature of content within social media ecosystems. Referenced and applied by leading entities—such as Fast Company, GoDaddy, Journal of Hand Surgery (European Volume), Ministère de la Culture (French Ministry of Culture), Pinterest Inc., PNAS, and Telecommunications Policy, among others—his research exemplifies methodological rigor and sustained significance in the field of digital informatics.
The 2026 edition of Graffius "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" research is here.
Education and Professional Certifications
Graffius has a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a focus in Human Factors. He holds eight professional certifications:
He is an active member of the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute (PMI), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Advancing AI, Agile, and Project/PMO Management
Scott M. Graffius continues to advance the fields of AI, Agile, and Project/PMO Management through his leadership, research, writing, and real-world impact. Businesses and other organizations leverage Graffius’ insights to drive their success.
Discover Scott’s Books
Connect with and follow Scott on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook, Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon, and ResearchGate.
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Graffius, S. M. (2026, January 23). Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts: Update for 2026. ScottGraffius.com. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.32407.43689
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Graffius, S. M. (2026, January 23). Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts: Update for 2026. ScottGraffius.com. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.32407.43689
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Introduction
People and organizations utilize digital communication to connect with and engage their target audiences, as well as promote their content. This is digital marketing, which includes email, social media, web-based advertising, and text and multimedia messages.
Social media marketing is an increasingly vital aspect of digital marketing. It encompasses creating, curating, and sharing content on platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok, X, Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, LinkedIn, podcasts, YouTube, Pinterest, and blogs. Beyond posting, it involves engaging with audiences, fostering community interactions, and more. These platforms enable people to access, share, and interact with content while connecting with family, friends, and others. For businesses, social media marketing provides direct channels to reach and engage target audiences effectively. When well-executed, it delivers multiple benefits, including:
- Global engagement: With 5,240,000,000 (5.24 billion) active social media users worldwideB1, the potential audience is vast.
- Enhanced brand visibility: Boost awareness and reach in the marketplace.
- Stronger customer connections: Foster meaningful engagement with your audience.
- Increased website traffic: Drive more visitors to online platforms.
- Better search engine rankings: Improve visibility in search results.
- Additional opportunities: Unlock other ways to grow your brand.
Other reports on social media often rely on anecdotal evidence, limited datasets, or otherwise non-robust methodology. These common constraints can result in findings that are non-representative, inaccurate, or unreliable. In contrast, this research is grounded in a rigorous methodology that is refreshed each year, delivering a reliable longitudinal perspective amid the constant evolution of platform algorithms and engagement windows.
In 2018, Scott M. Graffius first published data on the lifespan (half-life) of social media posts using a systematic methodology analyzing a broad set of data from multiple sources. This work bridges the gap between high-level academic studies—frequently theoretical and slow-moving—and commercial insights that are often fast but opaque. By identifying when posts reach half of their total lifetime engagement, the analysis establishes a practical benchmark for understanding how engagement accrues over time. Engagement signals interest, reveals what resonates, boosts algorithmic visibility, and more.
Given that algorithms and other factors on platforms evolveB2,B25,B26, Graffius periodically updates his analysis.
Businesses, professional associations, government agencies, social media researchers, influencers, publications, and others have featured and used prior editions of Scott M. Graffius' "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" work. Examples include Buffer, Business Next, GoDaddy, Maximizing LinkedIn for Business Growth, Ministère de la Culture (French Ministry of Culture), Neal Schaffer, Pinterest Inc., Podcasting Strategy Show, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Telecommunications Policy, World Economic Forum, Xavier Degraux, and many more. See the Coverage of Graffius' Research section for additional examples.
This article provides the "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts: Update for 2026." It covers Snapchat, TikTok, X, Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, LinkedIn, podcasts (audio and video formats with engagement functionality), YouTube, Pinterest, and blogs (with engagement functionality).
Findings were derived from an extensive analysis of over 5,600,000 social media posts and 397 podcasts, aggregated from multiple sources, including application programming interfaces (APIs), proprietary commercial datasets, academic and research consortia databases, publicly shared datasets, governmental and non-governmental organizational data repositories, and more.A1
The collective dataset includes data from 1 January 2025 through 31 December 2025 (with retrospective data from antecedent blogging platforms) on diverse entities, including individuals (from those with few followers/subscribers to influencers), businesses (from small to large), professional associations, educational institutions, and others. Entities are represented proportionately, reflecting the distribution in the digital ecosystem.A1 This comprehensive, multidimensional approach yields a robust and representative sampling of posts, providing a broad and deep scope of analysis.A1
Why This Research Matters
- Actionable Data for Practitioners: Offers insights that directly inform content strategy, campaign planning, and engagement optimization.
- Empirical and Updated: Annual updates and consistent methodology make this work reliable and longitudinal.
- Bridges Academia and Industry: Straddles the divide between slow, theoretical studies and fast, opaque commercial insights.
- Individual Creators: The research offers actionable insights for anyone posting on social media.
- Digital Marketing and Communications: Ideal for marketing courses, strategy guides, campaign planning, timing calendars, engagement return on investment (ROI) analyses, and martech stack decision-making.
- Platform Analytics Research: Complements studies on algorithmic reach, post visibility decay, content discovery, and fatigue.
- Digital Sociology / Information Flow Studies: Provides insight into how content typically decays or becomes "sticky" across platforms.
- Agile Content Operations: Supports strategic and tactical planning such as content publication.
For more insights and details, refer to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section.
As detailed next, the average half-life of posts varies by social media platform.
Main Section of Article
Snapchat
Snapchat is a multimedia social media and instant messaging app developed by Snap Inc., known for its ephemeral "Snaps" that typically disappear after being viewed. Beyond its ephemeral nature, Snapchat offers features like Stories, Discover, augmented reality (AR) filters, and Snap Map. It has 932,000,000 (932 million) monthly active users.B3
The average half-life duration for engagement on Snapchat posts is 0 minutes.A1 Exceptions apply. Content may disappear instantly or live up to 24 hours (even longer in certain cases) depending on the message type, user settings, and other details.
Algorithms and other factors on platforms can change over time, potentially impacting the average half-life duration for posts. For comparison, here’s data on Snapchat for 2026 along with the previous two annual editions of this report:
- 2026: 0 minutes (exceptions apply).A1
- 2025: 0 minutes (exceptions apply).B4
- 2024: 0 minutes (exceptions apply).B5
See the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section for more insights about Snapchat.
TikTok
TikTok is a leading platform for short‑form video content, where creators share brief, highly engaging clips that can spread quickly across the "For You" feed. While most TikTok videos remain available unless removed, the platform also supports story‑style ephemeral posts, enabling creators to share spontaneous, in‑the‑moment updates with less pressure to produce polished content. TikTok has 1,990,000,000 (1.99 billion) monthly active users.B3
The average half-life duration for engagement on TikTok posts is 0 minutes, with the caveat of "with exceptions."A1 Videos featuring uniquely compelling content or celebrity involvement can go viral, significantly extending their visibility and engagement.
TikTok was added to this report in 2025.
- 2026: 0 minutes (exceptions apply).A1
- 2025: 0 minutes (exceptions apply).B4
- 2024: TikTok did not appear in the 2024 report.B5
See the FAQs for more insights about TikTok.
X
X is a microblogging and social networking service owned by X Corp., where users post and interact with messages known as "tweets" or "X posts"—now encompassing long-form text, images, videos, live streams, audio/video calls, and more. The following from X encapsulates its vision, mission, and goals: "We're building the world's most trusted public town square—and we pride ourselves on our commitment to protecting free speech within the boundaries of the law. Beyond that, we aim to increase unregretted user minutes on our platform, and make it the best place on the internet for creators to share content and make money."B6 X has 557,000,000 (557 million) monthly active users.B3
The average half-life duration for posts on X is 52 minutes.A1
Algorithms and other factors on platforms can change over time, potentially impacting the average half-life duration for posts. For comparison, here’s data on X for 2026 along with the previous two annual editions of this report:
- 2026: 52 minutes.A1
- 2025: 49 minutes.B4
- 2024: 43 minutes.B5
See the FAQs for more insights about X.
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It enables users to create profiles, connect with others, and share content such as text posts, photos, videos, and links. The platform also supports groups, pages, events, and advertising, making it widely used for personal communication, community building, and business marketing. Facebook has 3,070,000,000 (3.07 billion) monthly active users.B3
The average half-life duration for Facebook posts is 86 minutes = 1.43 hours.A1
Algorithms and other factors on platforms can change over time, potentially impacting the average half-life duration for posts. For comparison, here’s data on Facebook for 2026 along with the previous two annual editions of this report:
- 2026: 86 minutes = 1.43 hours.A1
- 2025: 81 minutes = 1.35 hours.B4
- 2024: 76 minutes = 1.27 hours.B5
See the FAQs for more insights about Facebook.
Reddit, often called "the front page of the internet," is a social media and discussion platform where users participate in more than 100,000 active topic‑specific communities known as subreddits. Its upvote and downvote system lets users collectively shape what is seen, surfacing higher‑quality or more popular posts and comments while pushing less relevant content out of view. Founded in 2005, Reddit has grown into a vast ecosystem spanning breaking news, in‑depth discussions, memes, and highly niche interests. This participatory structure and breadth of content have made it one of the web’s central hubs for discovering information and connecting with communities built around shared interests. Reddit is reported to have 765,000,000 (765 million) monthly active users.B3
The average half-life duration for Reddit posts is 150 minutes = 2.50 hours.A1
Reddit was added to this report in 2025.
- 2026: 150 minutes = 2.50 hours.A1
- 2025: 155 minutes = 2.58 hours.B4
- 2024: Reddit did not appear in the 2023 report.B5
See the FAQs for more insights about Reddit.
Instagram is a leading photo and video-sharing social platform owned by Meta. It lets users capture and post media—enhanced with filters, effects, music, stickers, captions, and more—then organize it with hashtags, location tags, and collections. People follow accounts to see updates in a personalized feed, engaging through likes, comments, shares, saves, and direct messages. Instagram has 3,000,000,000 (3.00 billion) monthly active users.B3
The average half-life duration for Instagram posts is 1,096 minutes = 18.27 hours.A1
Algorithms and other factors on platforms can change over time, potentially impacting the average half-life duration for posts. For comparison, here’s data on Instagram for 2026 along with the previous two annual editions of this report:
- 2026: 1,096 minutes = 18.27 hours.A1
- 2025: 1,143 minutes = 19.04 hours.B4
- 2024: 1,185 minutes = 19.75 hours.B5
See the FAQs for more insights about Instagram.
LinkedIn is a business and employment-oriented online service that serves as the world's largest professional network. With over 1.2 billion members worldwideB22, it enables users to build and showcase professional profiles, connect with colleagues and industry peers, discover job opportunities, share insights and content, and advance their careers. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Microsoft. LinkedIn does not report how many of its users are monthly active users (MAUs). Third parties estimate that there are about 300 million MAUs.
The average half-life duration for LinkedIn posts is 1,393 minutes = 23.22 hours.A1
Algorithms and other factors on platforms can change over time, potentially impacting the average half-life duration for posts. For comparison, here’s data on LinkedIn for 2026 along with the previous two annual editions of this report:
- 2026: 1,393 minutes = 23.22 hours.A1
- 2025: 1,426 minutes = 23.77 hours.B4
- 2024: 1,458 minutes = 24.30 hours.B5
See the FAQs for more insights about LinkedIn.
Podcasts
A podcast is a digital media file, available online for streaming or download. The term "podcast," coined in Ben Hammersley in 2004B27, blends "iPod" and "broadcast." While audio podcasts dominate the medium, video podcasts, or vodcasts, have gained traction by integrating visual elements to boost engagement on platforms like YouTube. There are over 3,708,000 (3.47 million) podcasts.B23
The average half-life duration for posts on podcast platforms with engagement functionality is 10,117 minutes = 7.03 days.A1
Podcasts were added to this report in 2025.
- 2026: 10,117 minutes = 7.02 days.A1
- 2025: 9,625 minutes = 6.68 days.B4
- 2024: Podcasts did not appear in the 2023 report.B5
See the FAQs for more insights about podcasts.
YouTube
YouTube is an online video-sharing platform. It's owned by Google, and it's the second most visited website, after Google Search. YouTube has 2,580,000,000 (2.58 billion) monthly active users.B3
The average half-life duration for YouTube posts is 15,276 minutes = 10.60 days.A1
Algorithms and other factors on platforms can change over time, potentially impacting the average half-life duration for posts. For comparison, here’s data on YouTube for 2026 along with the previous two annual editions of this report:
- 2026: 15,276 minutes = 10.60 days.A1
- 2025: 13,929 minutes = 9.67 days.B4
- 2024: 12,717 minutes = 8.83 days.B5
See the FAQs for more insights about YouTube.
Pinterest is a visual discovery engine that enables people to search for, save, and curate ideas from across the internet as "pins" organized on customizable boards. Operated by Pinterest, Inc., the platform functions both as an inspiration hub—spanning categories such as fashion, home décor, recipes, and DIY—and as a marketing and commerce channel through features that support content distribution, product discovery, and shoppable experiences. It has 578,000,000 (578 million) monthly active users.B3
The average half-life duration for Pinterest posts is 174,894 minutes = 3.99 months.A1
Algorithms and other factors on platforms can change over time, potentially impacting the average half-life duration for posts. For comparison, here’s data on Pinterest for 2026 along with the previous two annual editions of this report:
- 2026: 174,894 minutes = 3.99 months.A1
- 2025: 169,789 minutes = 3.88 months.B4
- 2024: 164,518 minutes = 3.76 months.B5
See the FAQs for more insights about Pinterest.
Blogs
Blogs (a truncation of "weblogs") are discussion or informational websites consisting of discrete, often diary-style entries. Up until 2009, blogs were usually the work of individuals and each typically covered a single topic. In the 2010s, multi-author blogs (MABs) from media outlets and others emerged. In addition to featuring the writings of multiple authors, MABs frequently span a range of topics. It is estimated that there are over 600,000,000 (600 million) blogs.B8,B24
The average half-life duration for posts on blog platforms with engagement functionality is 1,068,305 minutes = 2.03 years.A1
Algorithms and other factors on platforms can change over time, potentially impacting the average half-life duration for posts. For comparison, here’s data on blogs for 2026 along with the previous two annual editions of this report:
- 2026: 1,068,304 minutes = 2.03 years.A1
- 2025: 1,037,340 minutes = 1.97 years.B4
- 2024: 1,022,997 minutes = 1.95 years.B5
See the FAQs for more insights about blogs.
Conclusion
Social media platforms enable people to access, share, and interact with content while also connecting with family, friends, and others. The platforms also provide organizations with direct channels to reach and engage with their target audiences.
The relevance and engagement of social media posts have a limited lifespan. An advantageous objective metric is half-life. It’s the time it takes for a post to receive half of its total engagement (such as likes, shares, and comments). In 2018, Scott M. Graffius first published data on the lifespan (half-life) of social media posts. Algorithms and other factors on platforms change over time. For that reason, Graffius periodically updates his analysis. This report, which is based extensive study of over 5,600,000 social media posts and 397 podcasts aggregated from multiple sourcesA1, provides the update for 2026.
The "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts: Update for 2026" research stands out for its:
- Massive scope (5M+ posts analyzed),
- Broad coverage (11 major platforms),
- Rigorous methodology (multi-source, representative, and fully data-driven),
- Ongoing continuity (annual updates reflecting evolving algorithms), and
- Practical value (delivering actionable insights to help users navigate today's social media environment).
In closing, social media analytics offer valuable insights that can support efforts to level up engagement and results.B9,B10,B11,B12,B13,B14,B15 Data on the average half-life of posts can help inform strategic and tactical decisions such as the frequency and scheduling of posts.
Read on for:
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs),
- Coverage of Graffius’ Research,
- Sources/References,
- About Scott M. Graffius
- How to Cite This Article,
- and more.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
FAQ 01. What is Social Media?
Social media refers to digital platforms and related technologies that enable users to create, share, and interact with content and connect with others in virtual communities. Leading dictionaries support that relatively broad characterization.
- Cambridge Dictionary: "Websites and computer programs that allow people to communicate and share information, opinions, pictures, videos, etc. on the internet, especially social networking websites."B18
- Britannica Dictionary: "Forms of electronic communication (such as Web sites) through which people create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, etc."B19
- Dictionary.com: "Websites and other online means of communication that are used by large groups of people to share information and to develop social and professional contacts."B20
Summarized, the key characteristics of social media include:
- User-generated content.
- Multimedia sharing (such as text, images, audio, or videos).
- Interactive engagement features (such as comments, likes, or shares).
FAQ 02. What platforms are included in this 2026 edition of the research?
This 2026 update covers Snapchat, TikTok, X, Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, LinkedIn, podcasts (audio and video formats with engagement functionality), YouTube, Pinterest, and blogs (with engagement functionality).
FAQ 03. Why exactly are posts on Snapchat a form of social media?
Further to FAQ items 1 and 2, posts on Snapchat are aligned with the core principles of social media by facilitating user-generated content, multimedia sharing, and interactive engagement. Here are the related definitive characteristics of Snapchat:
- User-generated content: Users create personal stories and snaps.
- Multimedia sharing: Allows sharing of photos and short videos.
- Interactive features: Users can reply to snaps, react with emojis, and send direct messages.
FAQ 04. Why exactly are posts on TikTok a form of social media?
Further to FAQ items 1 and 2, posts on TikTok are aligned with the core principles of social media by facilitating user-generated content, multimedia sharing, and interactive engagement. Here are the related definitive characteristics of TikTok:
- User-generated content: Users create and upload short videos.
- Multimedia sharing: Primarily focused on video content.
- Interactive features: Allows comments, likes, and shares on videos.
FAQ 05. Why exactly are posts on X a form of social media?
Further to FAQ items 1 and 2, posts on X are aligned with the core principles of social media by facilitating user-generated content, multimedia sharing, and interactive engagement. Here are the related definitive characteristics of X:
- User-generated content: Users post tweets and threads.
- Multimedia sharing: Supports text, images, GIFs, and videos.
- Interactive features: Enables retweets, likes, and replies.
FAQ 06. Why exactly are posts on Facebook a form of social media?
Further to FAQ items 1 and 2, posts on Facebook are aligned with the core principles of social media by facilitating user-generated content, multimedia sharing, and interactive engagement. Here are the related definitive characteristics of Facebook:
- User-generated content: Users create posts, stories, and events.
- Multimedia sharing: Supports text, images, videos, and live streaming.
- Interactive features: Offers likes, comments, shares, and reactions.
FAQ 07. Why exactly are posts on Reddit a form of social media?
Further to FAQ items 1 and 2, posts on Reddit are aligned with the core principles of social media by facilitating user-generated content, multimedia sharing, and interactive engagement. Here are the related definitive characteristics of Reddit:
- User-generated content: Users submit posts and create subreddits.
- Multimedia sharing: Allows text posts, images, videos, and links.
- Interactive features: Includes upvotes/downvotes, comments, and awards.
FAQ 08. Why exactly are posts on Instagram a form of social media?
Further to FAQ items 1 and 2, posts on Instagram are aligned with the core principles of social media by facilitating user-generated content, multimedia sharing, and interactive engagement. Here are the related definitive characteristics of Instagram:
- User-generated content: Users post photos, videos, and stories.
- Multimedia sharing: Focuses on visual content (images and videos).
- Interactive features: Enables likes, comments, and direct messaging.
FAQ 09. Why exactly are posts on LinkedIn a form of social media?
Further to FAQ items 1 and 2, posts on LinkedIn are aligned with the core principles of social media by facilitating user-generated content, multimedia sharing, and interactive engagement. Here are the related definitive characteristics of LinkedIn:
- User-generated content: Users create profiles and post professional content.
- Multimedia sharing: Supports text posts, articles, images, and videos.
- Interactive features: Allows connections, likes, comments, and endorsements.
FAQ 10. Why exactly are posts on podcast platforms a form of social media?
Further to FAQ items 1 and 2, posts on podcast platforms with engagement functionality are aligned with the core principles of social media by facilitating user-generated content, multimedia sharing, and interactive engagement. Here are the related definitive characteristics of podcasts:
- User-generated content: Creators produce and upload audio or video episodes.
- Multimedia sharing: It can include both audio-only content or video formats.
- Interactive features: Listeners/viewers can rate, review episodes, or otherwise comment on them.
FAQ 11. Why exactly are posts on YouTube a form of social media?
Further to FAQ items 1 and 2, posts on YouTube are aligned with the core principles of social media by facilitating user-generated content, multimedia sharing, and interactive engagement. Here are the related definitive characteristics of YouTube:
- User-generated content: Users create and upload videos.
- Multimedia sharing: Primarily video-based platform.
- Interactive features: Allows likes, comments, subscriptions, and sharing.
FAQ 12. Why exactly are posts on Pinterest a form of social media?
Further to FAQ items 1 and 2, posts on Pinterest are aligned with the core principles of social media by facilitating user-generated content, multimedia sharing, and interactive engagement. Here are the related definitive characteristics of Pinterest:
- User-generated content: Users create boards and pin content.
- Multimedia sharing: Focuses on image and video sharing.
- Interactive features: Enables re-pins, likes, and comments.
FAQ 13. Why exactly are posts on blog platforms a form of social media?
Further to FAQ items 1 and 2, posts on blog platforms with engagement functionality are aligned with the core principles of social media by facilitating user-generated content, multimedia sharing, and interactive engagement. Here are the related definitive characteristics of blogs:
- User-generated content: Authors create and publish blog posts.
- Multimedia sharing: It can include text, images, videos, and audio.
- Interactive features: Readers can comment on posts or share them.
FAQ 14. What is the half-life of social media posts?
The half-life is the time it takes for a post to receive half of its total engagement, such as likes, shares, and comments. It’s an advantageous objective metric for assessing content.
FAQ 15. Why is half-life important in social media strategy?
Half-life provides an objective metric to inform strategic and tactical decisions, such as the frequency and scheduling of posts.
FAQ 16. What factors can impact the half-life of social media?
Posts can be influenced by multiple elements. Here are ten factors:
- Content Relevance: Posts that resonate with audience interests and needs will likely have a longer half-life.
- Timing of Post: The timing of your post can significantly affect its half-life. Posting at times when your audience is most active and likely to engage can extend the lifespan of your post.
- Engagement Level: Posts with higher initial engagement will likely remain relevant and visible longer.
- Quality of Visuals: Posts with high-quality visuals, such as images, videos, or infographics, tend to capture more attention and have a longer lifespan on social media.
- Use of Hashtags: Strategic use of hashtags can increase the discoverability of your post and extend its reach, thus impacting its half-life.
- Platform Algorithm: Each social media platform has its own algorithm that determines the visibility and reach of posts. Understanding and optimizing for these algorithms can affect the half-life of your posts.
- Audience Engagement: The level of engagement from your audience, including likes, comments, shares, and click-through rates, can influence the half-life of your post. Higher engagement indicates higher relevance and longevity.
- Post Frequency: The frequency at which you post content can impact the half-life of individual posts. Spacing posts out can allow each one to receive more attention over time.
- Content Format: Different content formats, such as text-only posts, images, videos, and interactive content, may have varying half-lives based on their appeal and engagement potential.
- External Events and Trends: External events, holidays, trends, and news topics can affect the relevance and visibility of your posts. Leveraging timely content can extend the half-life of your posts by tapping into current conversations and interests.
FAQ 17. What data sources were used for the 2026 update?
The analysis drew from over 5,600,000 social media posts and 397 podcasts. Data sources included APIs, proprietary commercial datasets, academic and research consortia databases, publicly shared datasets, governmental and non-governmental organizational data repositories, and more.
FAQ 18. What dates does the 2026 update cover?
The update includes data from 1 January 2025 through 31 December 2025, and retrospective data from antecedent blogging platforms.
FAQ 19. Who is represented in the dataset used for the research?
The dataset represents a diverse range of entities, including individuals (from small accounts to influencers), businesses (small to large), professional associations, educational institutions, and more. The representation reflects the distribution in the digital ecosystem.
FAQ 20. What is the significance of the dataset size and diversity?
With data aggregated from over 5,600,000 posts (and 397 podcasts) and diverse sources, the comprehensive and multidimensional approach ensures robust and representative sampling, yielding broad and deep analytical insights.
FAQ 21. What factors impact engagement and the average half-life of posts on Snapchat?
Depending on the message type, user settings, and other details, content may disappear instantly or live up to 24 hours or longer.
FAQ 22. What factors impact engagement and the average half-life of posts on TikTok?
Select potential factors for TikTok include:
- Algorithm-driven content delivery: TikTok's "For You" page constantly refreshes with
- new content, promoting rapid consumption.
- Short video format: TikTok videos are typically brief, encouraging users to quickly
- move on to the next piece of content.
- Ephemeral features: TikTok Stories (like Instagram Stories) disappear after 24 hours, reinforcing the platform's emphasis on fleeting content.
FAQ 23. What factors impact engagement and the average half-life of posts on X?
Select potential factors for X include:
- Algorithm refinements: X may have adjusted its algorithm to promote certain content.
- Content quality improvements: The platform's focus on attracting small-to-medium businesses as advertisers might have led to higher-quality, more engaging content that resonates with users for longer periods.
- New features: X introduced new features and made changes to existing ones, which could impact how users interact with content.
- Political events: The platform's increased activity during key events, such as the U.S. elections, may have contributed to longer-lasting engagement with posts.
FAQ 24. What factors impact engagement and the average half-life of posts on Facebook?
Select potential factors for Facebook include:
- Algorithm refinements: Facebook may have adjusted its algorithm.
- New features: Facebook has been introducing new features and changing existing ones.
- Balanced content mix: The algorithm is designed to show users a variety of post types, ensuring they don't see multiple posts of the same type in a row. That could contribute to longer engagement periods.
FAQ 25. What factors impact engagement and the average half-life of posts on Reddit?
Select potential factors for Reddit include:
- Content depth: Reddit's focus on in-depth discussions and longer-form content naturally leads to extended engagement periods.
- Community-driven structure: The platform's subreddit system allows users to engage with niche communities, fostering longer-lasting interactions.
- User behavior: Redditors may spend significant time exploring threads and participating in discussions, contributing to longer content lifespans.
- Algorithm design: Reddit's algorithm may prioritize relevant content over recency, allowing posts to maintain visibility for longer periods.
- Diverse content types: Reddit supports various content formats, including text posts, links, images, and videos, catering to different user preferences and engagement patterns.
- User demographics: Reddit's user base, which includes a high proportion of tech-savvy and engaged users, may contribute to longer content lifespans.
This report conveys the average half-life for posts on the Reddit platform. Half-life may vary across different subreddits and content types. Factors such as the subreddit's size, topic, and activity level can greatly influence a post's half-life.
FAQ 26. What factors impact engagement and the average half-life of posts on Instagram?
Select potential factors for Instagram include:
- Increased content volume: With Instagram's large user base, more content may be competing for attention, leading to faster content turnover.
- Algorithm adjustments: Instagram might have refined its algorithm to prioritize more recent content, potentially reducing the visibility of older posts.
- Shift towards video content: The platform's increasing focus on Reels and short-form video content could be impacting the longevity of traditional posts.
- User behavior changes: Users might spend less time on individual posts and more time scrolling through their feeds or exploring new content formats.
- Rise of ephemeral content: The popularity of Stories and other temporary content types could be influencing overall engagement patterns on the platform.
FAQ 27. What factors impact engagement and the average half-life of posts on LinkedIn?
Select potential factors for LinkedIn include:
- Increased content volume: LinkedIn has been growing steadily. This growth may have led to more content being shared, potentially reducing the lifespan of individual posts.
- Algorithm refinements: LinkedIn might have adjusted its algorithm to prioritize more recent or trending content, slightly reducing the visibility of older posts.
- User behavior changes: Professionals might adopt more frequent, shorter engagement sessions, leading to quicker content turnover.
- Shift in content types: The platform's increasing focus on video content and live events could be impacting the engagement patterns of traditional posts.
- Mobile usage: With more users accessing LinkedIn via mobile devices, browsing habits may have shifted towards shorter, more frequent interactions.
FAQ 28. What factors impact engagement and the average half-life of posts on podcast platforms?
Select potential factors for podcast platforms include:
- Content depth: Podcasts often feature in-depth discussions and longer-form content,
- leading to extended engagement periods.
- On-demand nature: Listeners/viewers can generally consume podcast content at their convenience, allowing for engagement over a longer timeframe.
- Niche topics: Many podcasts cater to specific interests, fostering dedicated listener/viewer bases that engage with content more thoroughly.
This report conveys the average half-life for posts on podcast platforms with engagement functionality. Half-life may vary across different podcast genres, episode lengths, and audience demographics.
FAQ 29. What factors impact engagement and the average half-life of posts on YouTube?
Select potential factors for YouTube include:
- Algorithm refinements: YouTube may have adjusted its recommendation algorithm to promote a wider variety of content, increasing the visibility of videos over a longer time frame.
- Content quality improvements: There might be an emphasis on higher-quality, more engaging content that resonates with users for longer periods.
- Shift in content types: The introduction of YouTube Shorts and its growing popularity could be influencing overall engagement patterns on the platform.
- Improved search and discovery: As the second-largest search engine, YouTube's enhanced search capabilities may be helping users find relevant content more easily.
This report conveys the average half-life for posts on the YouTube platform. Half-life can vary across different types of content, channels, and topics. Factors such as video length, subject matter, and target audience can greatly influence a video's half-life on the platform.
FAQ 30. What factors impact engagement and the average half-life of posts on Pinterest?
Select potential factors for Pinterest include:
- Algorithm refinements: Pinterest may have improved its recommendation algorithm, increasing the visibility of relevant pins over a longer timeframe.
- User behavior changes: With Pinterest's growing user base, particularly among Gen Z, there might be more users exploring content over extended periods.
- Content quality improvements: The platform's focus on personalization and AI-driven recommendations could lead to more engaging, relevant content.
- Mobile app optimization: Improvements in the mobile experience may be contributing to longer engagement periods.
- Diverse use cases: Pinterest's expansion into emerging categories like men's fashion and auto, alongside its core areas, could be broadening content appeal and extending engagement.
This extended half-life aligns with Pinterest's unique position as a platform for long-term inspiration and planning. It reinforces Pinterest's value for marketers and content creators, offering an extended window for engagement compared to other social media platforms.
FAQ 31. What factors impact engagement and the average half-life of posts on blog platforms?
Select potential factors for blog platforms include:
- Content quality focus: The extended half-life may reflect an increased emphasis on creating high-quality, evergreen content that remains relevant over time.
- SEO improvements: Ongoing refinements in search engine algorithms and SEO practices could contribute to better long-term visibility of blog content.
- Shift to long-form content: With many platforms favoring short-form content, blogs remain a bastion for in-depth, comprehensive articles, which may contribute to sustained engagement.
- Improved user experience: Enhanced blog designs, faster loading times, and mobile optimization could encourage longer and repeated engagement with content.
- Integration with other platforms: Effective cross-promotion of blog content on social media and other channels may drive sustained traffic and engagement.
FAQ 32. Can some posts have a half-life shorter or longer than the average half-life data published in this report?
Findings from this "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts: Update for 2026" research reports the average values derived from an extensive analysis of over 5,600,000 social media posts and 397 podcasts, aggregated from multiple sources including diverse entities, represented proportionately to reflect the distribution in the digital ecosystem. This comprehensive, multidimensional approach yields a robust and representative sampling of posts, providing a broad and deep scope of analysis to determine the average half-life durations.
However, individual posts may vary from the average. Additionally, others’ reports often rely on anecdotal evidence, limited datasets, or otherwise non-robust methodology. Those constraints can result in different findings.
FAQ 33. Which metric is better, views or engagement?
When evaluating the importance and value of views versus engagement on social media platforms, engagement metrics generally hold more value for several reasons. These include:
- Quality Over Quantity: Engagement metrics—such as likes, comments, and shares—indicate a higher level of interaction with content. A high engagement rate suggests that the audience isn't just passively consuming content but is actively involved, which can lead to stronger relationships with followers. This interaction can foster community, loyalty, and advocacy.
- Algorithmic Favor: Social media algorithms are designed to promote content that generates engagement. If posts receive a lot of likes, comments, and shares, the algorithm tends to favor the content by increasing its visibility. This can lead to a higher reach, which might not be directly proportional to the initial number of views.
- Monetization and Influence: For creators and marketers, platforms often reward engagement more than views in their monetization models. Engagement indicates real user interaction, which is more likely to translate into website visits, product sales, or ad revenue compared to passive views.
- Brand Loyalty and Advocacy: Engagement, especially comments and shares, can lead to user-generated content or discussions, which are invaluable for brand loyalty and advocacy. When followers share content, they're endorsing the respective brand or message to their network, potentially reaching a broader audience with a personal recommendation.
- Feedback and Improvement: Comments and other forms of engagement provide direct feedback. This interaction allows content creators to understand what resonates with their audience, helping refine strategies or content for better performance.
- Virality and Reach: Content that engages tends to have a higher chance of going viral.
FAQ 34. Tracking engagement (impact) rather than mere views (content display)?
In social media and digital marketing metrics, views and engagement represent distinct concepts that serve different purposes in understanding audience behavior. A view is a measure of exposure, counting the instances when content is displayed; it’s a passive metric about reach or visibility rather than interaction. Engagement, by contrast, captures active participation, tracking when a user interacts with content through actions (such as liking, commenting, or sharing a post), offering a deeper insight into how compelling or resonant the content is to its audience. A view indicates that someone had the opportunity to see something, while engagement signals that the content sparked enough attention to prompt a response. Simply put, views measure reach, and engagement measures impact.
Some social media research tracks views—mere content display. By contrast, engagement (such as likes, shares, comments) measures impact. For that reason, Graffius' "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" research analyzes engagement, providing a deeper insight.
FAQ 35. What are algorithms and how do they impact the user experience on social media platforms?
See our article.B16
FAQ 36. What is the typical engagement distribution pattern for social media posts?
See our article.B17
FAQ 37. How does temporal decay of engagement manifest on ephemeral systems vs. persistent networks?
The temporal decay curve of digital engagement reveals platform-specific entropic gradients. Median half-lives vary, with ephemeral systems (such as X) exhibiting acclerated attenuation vs. persistent networks (such as Pinterest).
FAQ 38. What is the difference between the public "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" research and commissioned/custom work?
Scott M. Graffius makes his "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" report—which he typically updates annually—available to the public free of charge.
Clients have commissioned him for follow-up, bespoke projects. These engagements are often resource-intensive—requiring substantial time, effort, and expense—and may involve sensitive, confidential, or restricted materials. For those reasons, that content is not available to the public.
Coverage of Graffius' Research
Scientists, researchers, journalists, academics, YouTubers, podcasters, SEO experts, analysts, businesses, and others have featured earlier editions of Scott M. Graffius' "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" research. Here are some examples:
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- Simony, V. (2025, January 5). Le Blog est mort. Vive le siège de votre Autorité Numérique. VAL. https://val.fr/blog-digital-hq-siege-autorite-numerique/
- Small Business Development Center. (2024, September 30). 10 Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Small Business [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WelVAmXuxPU&t=1181s
- Social Selling CRM. (2024). Demi-vie de Vos Publications: Stratégies d’Optimisation 2024.’ https://www.socialsellingcrm.com/demi-vie-de-vos-publications-strategies-doptimisation-2024/
- Statler, J. (2024, September 12). How to Schedule Social Media Posts: Best Tools and Tips. Post Planner. https://www.postplanner.com/blog/how-to-schedule-social-media-posts
- Strozyk, K. (2023, November 3). 11 Tips on How to Use Pinterest for Real Estate. Fit Small Business. https://fitsmallbusiness.com/how-to-use-pinterest-for-real-estate-agents
- Thailand TV News. (2022, August 16). Half-Life of Each Social Media Post. https://thailandtv.news/half-life-of-each-social-media-post-thumbsup
- The Tech Reps (2023, January 23). SEO or Social Media Marketing, Which is Better for Sales? [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVmQdHDXCrw
- Two Rivers Marketing. (2020, December 9). 8 Social Media Channels and Tactics to Consider Adding to Your Marketing Mix. https://www.tworiversmarketing.com/blog/8-social-media-channels-and-tactics-to-consider-adding-to-your-marketing-mix
- We Are Social. (2024, April 24). Digital 2024 April Global Statshot Report. We Are Social. https://wearesocial.com/sg/blog/2024/04/digital-2024-april-global-statshot-report/
- What What SEO. (2024, September 5). 5 bonnes raisons de créer un compte Pinterest si tu es entrepreneuse. https://whatwhatseo.fr/creer-compte-pinterest-entreprise-avantages
This list is not exhaustive.
References/Sources
Section "A" pertains to the rigorous methodology employed in this study.
- A1. "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts: Update for 2026" by Scott M. Graffius covers Snapchat, TikTok, X, Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, LinkedIn, podcasts (audio and video formats with engagement functionality), YouTube, Pinterest, and blogs (with engagement functionality). Findings were derived from an extensive analysis of over 5,600,000 social media posts and 397 podcasts, aggregated from multiple sources, including APIs, proprietary commercial datasets, academic and research consortia databases, publicly shared datasets, governmental and non-governmental organizational data repositories, and more. The collective dataset includes data from 1 January 2025 through 31 December 2025 (with retrospective data from antecedent blogging platforms) on diverse entities, including individuals (from those with a relatively small number of followers/subscribers to influencers), businesses (from small to large), professional associations, educational institutions, and others. Entities are represented proportionately, reflecting the distribution in the digital ecosystem. This comprehensive, multidimensional approach yields a robust and representative sampling of posts, providing a broad and deep scope of analysis.
Section "B" pertains to additional sources of information.
- B1. Statista. (2025). Number of social media users worldwide. https://www.statista.com/statistics/617136/digital-population-worldwide/.
- B2. Trivette, Hannah (2022, October 14). A Guide to Social Media Algorithms and SEO. Forbes.
- B3. Statista. (2025). Most popular social networks worldwide as of February 2025, by number of monthly active users. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/.
- B4. Graffius, S. M. (2025, January 6). Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts: Update for 2025. ScottGraffius.com. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.35085.65761
- B5. Graffius, S. M. (2024, January 1). Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts: Update for 2024. ScottGraffius.com. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.21043.60965
- B6. X. Available at: https://careers.x.com. Accessed on 2 January 2025.
- B7. Macready, Hannah (2023, February 22). 47 LinkedIn Statistics You Need to Know in 2023. Hootsuite.
- B8. Ong, Si Quan (2023, January 27). 59 Blogging Statistics for 2023.
- B9. Colicev, Anatoli, & Malshe, Ashwin, & Pauwels, Koen, & O'Connor, Peter (2018). Improving Consumer Mindset Metrics and Shareholder Value Through Social Media: The Different Roles of Owned and Earned Media. Journal of Marketing, 82 (1): 37-56.
- B10. Collier, Azure (2017, April 28). How to Create a Social Media Posting Schedule. Constant Contact.
- B11. IBM (n.d.). What is Social Media Analytics. Available at: https://www.ibm.com/topics/social-media-analytics.
- B12. Kanuri, V. K., & Chen, Y., & Sridhar, S. (2018). Scheduling Content on Social Media: Theory, Evidence, and Application. Journal of Marketing, 82 (6): 89-108.
- B13. Liadeli, G., & Sotgiu, F., & Verlegh, P. W. J. (2023). A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Brands' Owned Social Media on Social Media Engagement and Sales. Journal of Marketing, 87 (3): 406-427.
- B14. Perreault, Marie-Catherine, & Mosconi, Elaine (2018). Social Media Engagement: Content Strategy and Metrics Research Opportunities. Proceedings of the 51st Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences: 3568-3577.
- B15. Trunfio, Mariapina, & Rossi, Simona (2021). Conceptualising and Measuring Social Media Engagement: A Systematic Literature Review. Italian Journal of Marketing, 2021 (3):267-292.
- B16. Graffius, Scott M. (2024, September 26). How Algorithms Shape the User Experience on Social Media Platforms. Available at: https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/algorithms- and-the-user-experience.html. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.29149.01767.
- B17. Graffius, Scott M. (2024, September 30). Supplement to Graffius' 'Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts' Research: Typical Engagement Distribution Pattern for Social Media Posts. Available at: https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/distribution- pattern-for-social-media-posts.html. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.15820.22402.
- B18. Cambridge Dictionary. Definition of social media at: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/social- media.
- B19. Britannica Dictionary. Definition of social media at: https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/social-media.
- B20. Dictionary.com. Definition of social media at: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/social-media.
- B21. Statista (2024, February 27). Number of Monthly Active Reddit Users Worldwide from 2018 to 2026. Available at: https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1309791/reddit- mau-worldwide. [Note: This source is a carry-over from prior reporting. This article applies uniform reporting from the source at B3.]
- B22. Microsoft. (2025, July 29). LinkedIn business highlights from Microsoft’s Q4 FY25 earnings. https://news.linkedin.com/2025/Q4FY25_Earnings_Highlights.
- B23. Listen Notes (n.d.). Podcast Stats: How Many Podcasts Are There? Available at: https://www.listennotes.com/podcast-stats/. Accessed on 21 January 2026.
- B24. Hostinger (2026, January 13). Essential blogging statistics: trends, tips, and insights 2026. https://www.hostinger.com/tutorials/blogging-statistics
- B25. Musk, Elon (2024, February 28). A change is coming to our recommendation algorithm that will ensure that all your followers see your pinned posts. This only applies to one pinned post every ~48 hours to prevent gaming of the system. Post by @elonmusk on X at https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1762987619409879149. Accessed on 2 January 2025.
- B26. Instagram (2024, April 30). Today we’re announcing four changes to how we rank content to give all creators a more equal chance of breaking through to new audiences. Post by Instagram on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/creators/p/C6YxvSXgFxp. Accessed on 2 January 2025.
- B27. Hammersley, B. (2004, February 12). Audible revolution.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius is a strategic transformation leader who drives AI, Agile, and broader business and technology initiatives to deliver measurable value across projects, programs, portfolios, and PMOs. He is an expert in the teamwork tradecraft of both human and human-AI teams, including the “exotic team dynamics” that emerge. He is also an authority on the temporal patterns of social media, including the half-life of audience engagement.
He’s a practitioner, researcher, thought leader, award-winning author, and keynote speaker who’s taken the stage at 96 conferences and other events across 25 countries.
He’s delivered over $2.3 billion in value for Fortune 500 companies and other leaders in technology, entertainment, financial services, healthcare, and beyond.
Businesses, professional associations, government agencies, and universities use Graffius and feature his work. Examples include Adobe, Bayer, Boston University, Ford, Gartner, Harvard Medical School, IEEE, Johns Hopkins University, Microsoft, MSN, National Academy of Sciences, Oracle, Pinterest Inc., Project Management Institute, UC San Diego, Verizon, Yale University, and others.
The following sections provide additional information on his experience, contributions, and influence.
Experience
Graffius heads the professional services firm Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, along with its subsidiary Exceptional Agility. These consultancies offer strategic and tactical advisory, training, embedded expertise, and consulting services to the public, private, and government sectors. They help organizations enhance their capabilities and results in agile, project management, program management, portfolio management, and PMO leadership, supporting innovation and driving competitive advantage. The consultancies confidently back services with a Delighted Client Guarantee™.
Graffius is a former VP of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment, and more.
He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets.
Award-Winning Author
Graffius has authored three books.
- Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions, his first book, earned 17 awards.
- Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change, his second book, was named one of the best Scrum books of all time by BookAuthority.
- Agile Protocol: The Transformation Ultimatum, his third book and his first work of fiction, was released in April 2025. The book trailer is on YouTube.
International Public Speaker
Organizations worldwide engage Graffius to present on tech (including AI), Agile, project management, program management, portfolio management, and PMO leadership. He crafts and delivers unique and compelling talks and workshops. Graffius has conducted 96 sessions across 25 countries. Select examples of events include Agile Trends Gov, BSides (Newcastle Upon Tyne), Conf42 Quantum Computing, DevDays Europe, DevOps Institute, DevOpsDays (Geneva), Frug’Agile, IEEE, Microsoft, Scottish Summit, Scrum Alliance RSG (Nepal), Techstars, and W Love Games International Video Game Development Conference (Helsinki), and more.
With an average rating of 4.81 (on a scale of 1-5), sessions are highly valued.
The speaker engagement request form is here.
Thought Leadership and Influence
Prominent businesses, professional associations, government agencies, and universities have showcased Graffius and his contributions—spanning his books, talks, workshops, and beyond. Select examples include:
- Adobe,
- American Management Association,
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute,
- Bayer,
- BMC Software,
- Boston University,
- Broadcom,
- Cisco,
- Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts - Germany,
- Computer Weekly,
- Constructor University - Germany,
- Data Governance Success,
- Deimos Aerospace,
- DevOps Institute,
- Dropbox,
- EU's European Commission,
- Ford Motor Company,
- Gartner,
- GoDaddy,
- Harvard Medical School,
- Hasso Plattner Institute - Germany,
- IEEE,
- Innovation Project Management,
- Johns Hopkins University,
- Journal of Neurosurgery,
- Lam Research (Semiconductors),
- Leadership Worthy,
- Life Sciences Trainers and Educators Network,
- London South Bank University,
- Microsoft,
- MSN,
- NASSCOM,
- National Academy of Sciences,
- New Zealand Government,
- Oracle,
- Pinterest Inc.,
- Project Management Institute,
- Mary Raum (Professor of National Security Affairs, United States Naval War College),
- SANS Institute,
- SBG Neumark - Germany,
- Singapore Institute of Technology,
- Torrens University - Australia,
- TBS Switzerland,
- Tufts University,
- UC San Diego,
- UK Sports Institute,
- University of Galway - Ireland,
- US Department of Energy,
- US National Park Service,
- US Soccer,
- US Tennis Association,
- Verizon,
- Wrike,
- Yale University,
- and many others.
Graffius has played a key role in the Project Management Institute (PMI) in developing professional standards. He was a member of multiple teams that authored, reviewed, and produced:
- Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures—Second Edition.
- A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge—Sixth Edition.
- The Standard for Program Management—Fourth Edition.
- The Practice Standard for Project Estimating—Second Edition.
Additional details are here.
He was also a subject matter expert reviewer of content for the PMI’s Congress. Beyond the PMI, Graffius also served as a member of the review team for two of the Scrum Alliance’s Global Scrum Gatherings.
Acclaimed Authority on Teamwork Tradecraft
Graffius is a renowned authority on teamwork tradecraft. Informed by the research of Bruce W. Tuckman and Mary Ann C. Jensen, over 150 subsequent studies, and Graffius' first-hand professional experience with, and analysis of, team leadership and performance, Graffius created his "Phases of Team Development" intellectual property as a unique perspective and visual conveying the five phases of team development. First introduced in 2008 and periodically updated, his work provides a diagnostic and strategic guide for navigating team dynamics. It provides actionable insights for leaders across industries to develop high-performance teams. Its adoption by esteemed organizations such as Yale University, IEEE, Cisco, Microsoft, Ford, Oracle, Broadcom, the U.S. National Park Service, and the Journal of Neurosurgery, among others, highlights its utility and value, solidifying its status as an indispensable resource for elevating team performance and driving organizational excellence. In 2026, Graffius added human-AI teamwork—including the "exotic team dynamics" which emerge when advanced AI collaborates as a teammate—to his "Phases of Team Development."
The 2026 edition of Graffius' "Phases of Team Development" intellectual property is here.
Expert on Temporal Dynamics on Social Media Platforms
Graffius is also an authority on temporal dynamics on social media platforms. His "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" research—first published in 2018 and updated annually—delivers a precise quantitative analysis of post longevity across digital platforms, utilizing advanced statistical techniques to determine mean half-life with precision. It establishes a solid empirical base, effectively highlighting the ephemeral nature of content within social media ecosystems. Referenced and applied by leading entities—such as Fast Company, GoDaddy, Journal of Hand Surgery (European Volume), Ministère de la Culture (French Ministry of Culture), Pinterest Inc., PNAS, and Telecommunications Policy, among others—his research exemplifies methodological rigor and sustained significance in the field of digital informatics.
The 2026 edition of Graffius "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts" research is here.
Education and Professional Certifications
Graffius has a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a focus in Human Factors. He holds eight professional certifications:
- Certified SAFe 6 Agilist (SA),
- Certified Scrum Professional - ScrumMaster (CSP-SM),
- Certified Scrum Professional - Product Owner (CSP-PO),
- Certified ScrumMaster (CSM),
- Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO),
- Project Management Professional (PMP),
- Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSSGB), and
- IT Service Management Foundation (ITIL).
He is an active member of the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute (PMI), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Advancing AI, Agile, and Project/PMO Management
Scott M. Graffius continues to advance the fields of AI, Agile, and Project/PMO Management through his leadership, research, writing, and real-world impact. Businesses and other organizations leverage Graffius’ insights to drive their success.
Discover Scott’s Books
- Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions — Deliver Products in Short Cycles with Rapid Adaptation to Change, Fast Time-to-Market, and Continuous Improvement
- Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change
- Agile Protocol: The Transformation Ultimatum
Connect with and follow Scott on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook, Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon, and ResearchGate.
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Content Acknowledgements
Names, marks, and content are the property of their respective owners.
Scott M. Graffius' "Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts: Update for 2026" is copyright © Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved.
How to Cite This Article
Graffius, S. M. (2026, January 23). Lifespan (Half-Life) of Social Media Posts: Update for 2026. ScottGraffius.com. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.32407.43689
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.32407.43689
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Post-Publication Notes
Post-publication notes, if any, will appear here.
Copyright
Copyright © Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved.
Content on this site—including text, images, videos, and data—may not be used for training or input into any artificial intelligence, machine learning, or automatized learning systems, or published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.